The Los Angeles Kings announced that center Blake Lizotte will not return to Monday’s game against the Carolina Hurricanes due to a lower-body injury.
Lizotte, 26, left midway through the first period of the game after taking a hit from Dmitry Orlov. The Kings have yet to confirm the specifics of the injury, or how long-term the injury may be.
Lizotte finished the game with just a faceoff win and a penalty drawn in the 2:49 of ice time that he played, with the Kings winning the game 5-2.
The Lindstrom, Minnesota native has underperformed this season, with just 5 goals and 4 assists for 9 points in 33 games. While that is a product of being moved down the lineup with Pierre-Luc Dubois on the Kings this season and averaging the lowest ice time of his career at 11:20, his 1.44 points per 60 minutes is still the lowest of his career.
Since Lizotte entered the league in 2019, he’s been one of the better penalty killers in the league as well. His 0.223 shorthanded goals above replacement per 60 ranks 66th in the league in that time span, according to Evolving Hockey’s GAR model.
Lizotte was an undrafted free agent signing out of St. Cloud State in 2019, and cracked the Kings roster almost immediately, having now played six seasons in L.A., and just one AHL game in his career.
Lizotte is in the final year of a two-year contract with a $1.675 million cap hit, and he will be a restricted free agent at the end of the season with arbitration rights.
With Lizotte out for the game, his linemates going into the game in Carl Grundstrom and Trevor Lewis have gotten ice time as part of a rotation of the bottom six forwards with Dubois, Jaret Anderson-Dolan, and Alex Laferriere, while the top six lines have remained intact.
The Kings put an end to their eight-game losing streak with the win over the Canes, and have their first win of 2024. They’re currently in third place in the Pacific Division with a 21-11-8 record.
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